Schröder setback on guest workers (HOLD MEIN BIER, GOTTERDAMMERUNG)

The Daily Telegraph ^ | December 19, 2002 | Kate Connolly

[MadIvan]

Germany effectively closed its doors to elite foreign workers yesterday after its highest court knocked down a controversial immigration law, dealing a hefty blow to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's troubled government.

The constitutional court, reacting to a complaint by opposition conservatives, deemed the law to be illegal because of the way in which it passed through parliament.

The decision is a huge setback for Mr Schröder's attempts to push through the most sweeping immigration legislation since the Second World War, with which he had hoped to lure much-needed skilled foreigners into the workforce.

The law, due to come into force on Jan 1, would have allowed more skilled foreign workers and their families to enter Germany, according to the needs of industry and the level of the candidates.

But in the final stage of its passage through parliament, the law received a split vote from one of Germany's 16 regions or Lander last March. The speaker of the upper house, a member of Mr Schröder's Social Democrat Party, caused an uproar by counting this as a vote for the measure, prompting the complaint.

Otto Schily, the interior minister, did not try to conceal his disappointment yesterday. "I will not hide the fact that this leaves us in a very difficult position," he said. But he added that aimed to present a new bill in January and urged the opposition to compromise.

Business leaders and trade unions also called for compromise. "In a globalised world, companies need ideas and brains from all over the world," said Michael Rogowski, president of the Association of German Industry.

But the Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union hailed the court decision as a victory for democracy. They were against the law because they feared that Germany could not cope with the influx.

Demographic experts have long argued that Germany needs skilled immigrants to plug a shortage in industry and technology.

[MadIvan]

It just goes from bad, to worse, to FUBAR in Germany. ;)

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[MeekOneGOP]

bttt

[Cacophonous]

Well it's nice to see SOMEONE in the western world trying to get a handle on immigration.

[Bahbah]

Do you know what kinds of skills they are looking for, Ivan? Germans in the past have been know capable of developing very good technical and scientific skills. What would be the concern of a "huge" influx of highly educated, highly paid workers, or is there something else to this story?

[BeAllYouCanBe]

I live in the San Francisco area and we've lost 185,000 jobs in the last 2 years mostly in the technology sector.

How much you want to bet that if we offered to sent some US tech workers (read white males) over to Germany they wouldn't want them? They need guest-workers of a different color.

I think this is more about letting more Muslims into Germany so that they may continue to lead the Western World with the numbers of Islamic-crazies willing to plan and destroy America.(Remember 9-11 was executed from Hamburg!)

[MadIvan]

Germans in the past have been know capable of developing very good technical and scientific skills.

Apparently they have a shortage on "creative IT" skills - they're not world beaters in terms of software and internet technologies. There is only one German software house of note, SAP.

Many of the proposed immigrants were to come from India, and from the high tech people of Bangalore who have that expertise.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

I think this is more about letting more Muslims into Germany so that they may continue to lead the Western World with the numbers of Islamic-crazies willing to plan and destroy America.(Remember 9-11 was executed from Hamburg!)

To be fair, they wanted to let in Indians.

Regards, Ivan

[BeAllYouCanBe]

Indians.

I just can't imagine that Eastern Europe and the former Soviet block doesn't have the required numbers of workers. Why say just India - I speak of ignorance here but - I wonder about Germany they're just too liberal for my liking.

It is my opinion that Germans want non-whites and if as you say it is Indians then that's true. If they made it equal opportunity that'd be OK by me but INDIANS. (BTW India is the largest Muslim country in the world.)

[MadIvan]

India has a centre of IT excellence in Bangalore. They don't cost as much as American workers, and unlike most, they'd actually be interested in moving to Germany.

Regards, Ivan

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"India has a centre of IT excellence in Bangalore."

Indians speak Hindi or a variant of Hindi and I think there are 400+ languages in India. In school at an early age they learn to speak English and that is why there are millions of what we call in the states, H1-B workers, working here in technology.

I guess they don't speak German and that will take several years to accomplish. You could train many other nationalities just as easy.

I know because I work with many Indians and I know their English may need work before they can understand manuals to begin the job???

I have found that tech skills and language skills are not related.

[mrustow]

(BTW India is the largest Muslim country in the world.)

India is the most populous Hindu country in the world. I thought Pakistan and an Asian country (Indonesia?) both had more Moslems.

[PAR35]

BBC version of the story here:

German court bans immigration law
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/808777/posts

[PAR35]

RE: your post 8. I hadn't thought of that angle before - maybe they want the Indians to try to keep their large Moslem population in line.

[SlightOfTongue]

"In a globalised world, companies need ideas and brains from all over the world"

Al Gore, opportunity's knockin'! NOT!

Barf-Fig-NewtonNugen (All I could think of)

[McGavin999]

Hmmmm, they have over 9% unemployment and they want to import workers? Seems like it would do more good to train the workers they already have.

[StormEye]

"Demographic experts have long argued that Germany needs skilled immigrants to plug a shortage in industry and technology."

Need workers to keep your country and economy on an even keel? Then marry and have large families (3 or more kids. ) Raise, educate and train your children for the future. Then you won't need third world foreigners who will try to colonise your country under the guise of "guest workers."
And start paying your skilled workers more while drastically lowering income taxes on businesses, families and workers. Get back to the "nuclear" family and get socialism out of your nation.

[MadIvan]

Seems like it would do more good to train the workers they already have.

It would be, except their education system is buggered too - recent test scores put German kids behind the British, Americans, Hungarians, South Koreans....

Regards, Ivan

[BeAllYouCanBe]

[snip]"their education system is buggered too "

Well, that is interesting. I had not realized that the Germans are so quickly decending down the liberal slide to third-world status. I guess in an education system that teaches only white guilt and PC this is what happens.